Friday, September 4, 2009

The Morning After Chemo




Right now its Friday morning, and currently I'm feeling better than I expected, just a little sleepy. I had a difficult time sleeping overnight, but the nurses said that would happen, since I have so many different steroids in my body right now. So I woke up pretty early and made breakfast and just relaxed throughout the morning. The nurses told me come this afternoon the steroids will begin to wear off and I'll begin to feel exhausted. Then Friday evening, Saturday, Sunday and Monday will be the toughest days. Then during the middle of next week I'll begin to feel really tired, since that is when my white blood cells will be at their lowest.

However, I did want to write about the rest of my time receiving my chemotherapy yesterday. It took about 5 hours to completely receive the Rituxan, but the good news is this amount of time will shorten each session, as my body gets use to the medicine. After the Rituxan, we started the Chemo drugs. I think the significance of this situation eventually hit me, when I saw the nurse come to my bedside in full protective gear. The nurse told me all the nurses wore that type of outfit when administering the Chemo drugs because they are so dangerous. So this kind of scared me because I realized I was putting these dangerous drugs within my body. Something that others avoided was going directly inside of me. For so long I have made an effort to keep healthy and now I have to put poison inside my body to save my life. So it is a strange contradiction and a scary one in fact.

We finally completed the Chemo drugs at around 7:30pm, so a very long day. From the start of the steroids to the end of the Chemo drugs was a grand total of 8 hours. However, the time didn't seem to drag on because of my wonderful support team. My mom, boyfriend, and sister were with me the whole time and were great company. They made me laugh and they really helped me feel relaxed in this scary situation. Then today I have to go back to the doctor to receive a shot to help stimulate my white blood cells. I hope the shot won't be too bad, but I guess each time I get pricked, I'm learning to be not as scared.

Danielle Dupuy

6 comments:

  1. Hi Danielle, It sounds like you are taking the same chemo regiment that my husband took. One thing different. My husband never got sick, never lost a day of work, and his white blood count stayed in the normal ranges through all 6 treatments. I can send you the copies of his labs. The Dr.s were amazed. We need to talk. Please call. 605-329-2172
    Take care. Rosey Dosch

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  2. I'm glad you have some support! Can't wait to see you back on my television. Thank you for sharing this private part of life with us all.

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  3. Hey honey, I'm so glad to see you writing this blog. Isn't it just like you to take a terrible situation and make something good out of it. I just wanted to let you know that you've been in my thoughts always. My mom, Danit, Stephen, Mark and even my friend Eddie, who you've never met, send you their regards and are hoping the best for you. You've always been a huge inspiration for me, and now I'm glad to see you can pass that on to so many others. I love you and continue to miss you.

    -Kali

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  4. I'm so glad everything went well today. I'm glad your mom and sister are with you. Be strong this next week, it's going to be tough, but remember it won't last forever and will be over soon.
    You are in my thoughts and prayers.
    Love You xoxoxoxoxo
    Julie

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  5. Danielle - Stay strong and you will come out of this even better than before (if that is possible). You are constantly in our thoughts, and everyone is praying for you and your family and sending their best wishes. Love, M + B

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  6. Danielle, You are very brave to share your very personal story with your viewers. I would like to advise you to have the "port" as it will be much easier for you to get your chemo, and your nursing staff to administer it to you. It appears they have already had a difficult time finding a good vein to use. My husband had a "port" that was just under the skin in his chest that made it much easier to receive the drugs. The doctors told us the chemo drug is very hard on your veins. I hope you will consider this option. You are very lucky to have a good support system around you and many friends (some you don't even know - like me) who will be praying for your recovery. Stay strong and laugh every day! A loyal viewer.

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